Eve Marinelli has received a full scholarship from Kean University, where she will study graphic design. / Photo courtesy of Luis Pons

by Syjil Ashraf, (East Brunswick, N.J.) Home News Tribune

by Syjil Ashraf, (East Brunswick, N.J.) Home News Tribune

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. â?? Eve Marinelli is one of more than 700 students who graduated Thursday from Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School, yet she stands out in a big way - she has never attended class there.

Marinelli, a dancer who attends professional ballet school full-time in New York, is the first student to receive a diploma from the high school by taking online classes.

"It's been very successful. She's pretty much taken responsibility for her own education," said Alan Iachini, the high school's supervisor of guidance.

Marinelli, 18, started dancing when she was 2. She began to dance in New York City at 12, part time at Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. After an injury at 13, she switched to Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet.

She attended middle school in Bridgewater and had every intention of attending the high school until Gelsey Kirkland recommended she join the full-time program. She spent 2 1/2 years there before transferring to SLK Ballet.

Marinelli often found coursework outside of the classroom difficult without the immediate support of an instructor. To get extra help from a teacher, she had to coordinate schedules over phone or email. Without classmates, her social life has mainly consisted of her fellow dancers, although she kept in touch with a few people from her hometown.

"It's very difficult because you don't have a teacher right in front of you," she said. "I didn't have a normal teenage life, but I definitely do not regret it."

In New Jersey, local school boards are responsible for their own curricula for online enrollment.

"The state's only concern academically would be that the student demonstrates that he/she has the required knowledge and skills as measured by our academic standards," said David Saenz, a spokesman for the state Department of Education.

Marinelli's mother, Dawn, had reservations about her daughter attending the dance academy full time and going a nontraditional route for high school. In the end, she gave Eve her full support on the condition that she kept her grades up.

"I just felt that if they saw extreme talent in her and she wanted to do it that I couldn't hold her back," Dawn Marinelli said. "There's only a few people who can possibly have a professional career, and I didn't want her to look back and say, 'Well, what if I tried?' "

Dawn Marinelli approached Bridgewater-Raritan about online classes without much expectation. But the school was fully supportive, and guidance counselor Terry McDonald worked closely with Eve to set her up with online courses with Kaplan Inc., Keystone School and Founders Education.

"This is an incredibly, really amazing young person. ... It takes initiative and impeccable work ethic to be able to do something like this," McDonald said. "If you can take that classroom container and put it with that creativity and artistic ability, I'm going to say there's not many that I've come across (like that)."

Eve rose to the challenge. As a result, she has been offered a full scholarship to Kean University, where she will be studying graphic design in the fall.

"She's highly motivated and dedicated both to the dance and to her education, and I don't think either one suffered," Iachini said.

"She succeeded on both fronts, and to have a college see ability in her, too, and have her win this scholarship was just so emotional," Dawn Marinelli said.

Having turned in her last paper, Eve Marinelli, who has been navigating the trains and streets of New York City since age 14, walked at her school's graduation ceremony Thursday.

"I'm done, and that's crazy in itself. ... I've been so lucky to be given so many opportunities to train in New York, and I've had Bridgewater support me and help me," Marinelli said. "Not many people do what I do, and sometimes I forget that."

Dawn Marinelli said that she has seen her daughter mature past her years and thrive on her passion for dance.

"When you see her on stage, she just glows. ... It's just this love and passion that motivates her. The only way that she could dance was to take the path that she did."